I've decided to dive into the first two workshops because I've just come back home after doing my grocery shopping and I'm stunned at the elevated prices at Woolworths.  I'm guessing they're the same at Coles, Aldi and IGA. Prices aren't as high at Aldi but I think they're still higher than they were this time last year. Another player in the higher prices game are interest rates. Last week, the Reserve bank in Australia increased interest rates due to higher than expected inflation.

There are quite a few things you can do to reduce costs, most of them are small things, but when you look at those reductions over the course of 6 - 12 months, the effect can be significant.

The first workshop is on reducing costs and paying off debt because this effects most of us, from kids just leaving school to those in their 20s, 30s, and 40s who have families, mortgages and credit card debt. People in their 50s, 60s and 70s are hoping to pay off all their debt before they retire. I hope you're able to do that because life with a mortgage when you've retired would be difficult and stressful. Everyone will have a chance to talk briefly about their own circumstances to open up the possibility of feedback from people who are in the same situation and have made already made successful changes.

The second workshop will be on ageing and living alone. This is not just for older folk, we'll be discussing what you can do from your 20s, and in each decade, to prepare for older age. We'll talk about safety, food, staying active, community connections and family involvement, as well as activities such as gardening, crafts and daily routines. Everyone will have a chance to talk briefly about their own circumstances to open up the possibility of feedback from people who are in the same situation and have made already made successful changes.

I'm accepting 10 people in each workshop and they'll all be on Zoom.  You don't need to download Zoom, I have the necessary applications and you join the workshop simply by clicking on the link I'll send you just before the workshop starts.  Each workshop will be $50 which you'll pay when you book your place. I know that's cheap for an online workshop but I want everyone who wants to participate to be able to, and I'm happy with that amount. This is the only way I can make money at my age and I know that if I do a series of workshops over the coming months, I'll have enough money to build up my nest egg again and have the money I need to maintain my home and lifestyle.

Hello everyone. I'm so pleased, and a bit surprised, that so many people have flooded back in here.  I've had over 47,000 visitors since Sunday. It's lovely to be here with you again.

Like most of you, I'm suffering with the higher cost of living now. Hanno and I had a good nest egg to fall back on if we needed anything out of the ordinary, however, that has shrunk a lot in the past year.  At my age it's very difficult to earn money but I want to do a set of online Zoom workshops to help get me back on track.  They will cost $50 each (I want to keep them as cheap as I can) and we'll have 10 people in each 90 minute session.  There'll be plenty of time to ask questions and discuss your own circumstances. If you would like to take one of the workshops, I'd like you to comment on what topic/s you'd like to talk about and what days and times you're available. Please note, I can't do workshops in the evening because I'm too tired and you wouldn't get your money's worth. I can do weekends though.  So let me know as soon as you can. If no one comments, I'll start with Gardening for beginners and Cutting costs in the home.  I'd like to do other topics as well such as Pruning, Watering, Mulching and Compost, Keeping chickens, Seed saving and heirloom seeds, Living alone, Baking, Cooking from scratch, Making laundry liquid/powder and other simple cleaners, Ageing and Living well through each decade. I'm sure there'll be more topics - I have so much I'd like to share with you.

The photos above and below are gardens Hanno and I tended together. 

So far this week I've been organising my garden. It hasn't been a good gardening year here because of the humidity. The monsoonal trough up north has been very active and it's cause high humidity and with that comes lots of chewing and sucking insects. I had some bugs here that were chewing through rose buds and the tops of radishes, and there has been a lot of powdery mildew. So I gave up on the weekend - normally I'd start winding down from summer and cleaning up and pruning in early March but I started a month early. I've almost finished the rose pruning and I'm topping up the pots with potting soil and straw mulch this afternoon.  Going into autumn there'll be an organised wild garden just growing a few of the vegetables I always eat.

My home care plan has agreed to rebuild the roof of my bush house which I'm delighted with. I'm buying the materials. The floor, walls and shelves are all still in fine form, they were all built by Hanno. 😊 However, over the years I've had three roof repairs and replacement of shade cloth.  That's where the problem lies now. The repairs were disorganised and casual and I've been lucky not to have been clonked on the head by falling timbers.  When that's set up properly again, they'll be no stopping me.

This will be my last post here.  I've been writing my blog for 18 years and now is the time to step back. I’ve stopped writing the blog and come back a couple of times because so many people wanted it, but that won’t happen again, I won’t be back.  I’ll continue on instagram to remain connected but I don’t know how frequent that will be.

I know some of you will be interested to know the blog's statistics. 

I've been spending time in the backyard lately creating a contained herb and vegetable garden. My aim is to develop a comfortable place to spend time, relax, increase biodiversity and encourage more animals, birds and insects to live here or visit. Of course I'd prefer my old garden which was put together by Hanno with ease and German precision. Together, we created a space bursting at the seams with herbs, vegetables and fruity goodness ready to eat and share throughout the year. But time changes everything. What I'm planning on doing now, is a brilliant opportunity for an almost 80 year old with balance issues. In my new garden I'll be able to do a wide range of challenging or easy work, depending on how I feel each day. It’s a daily opportunity to push myself or sit back, watch what's happening around me and be captivated by memories or the scope of what's yet to come.

Living simply is the answer to just about everything. It reduces the cost of living; it keeps you focused on being careful with resources such as water and electricity; it reminds you to not waste food; it encourages you to store food so you don't waste it and doing all those things brings routine and rhythm to your daily life. Consciously connecting every day with the activities and tasks that create simple life reminds you to look for the meaning and beauty that normal daily life holds.  It's all there in your home if you look for it. Seemingly mundane tasks like cleaning and cooking help you with that connection for without those tasks, the home you want to live in won't exist in the way you want it to.  Creating a home you love will make you happy and satisfied.

I haven't written a day in my life post for a long time so today is the perfect day for it. This was yesterday, it was a busy day because I'm doing a few extra things each day to prepare for Christmas. The worst thing about Christmas for me is the rushing to get things done but if I start early, it gets done and enjoy it too.